Once upon a time, in a land far away... well, it was in Ireland in 2011... I discovered that faeries are probably really real. Listen to my true tale, and tell me what you think.
On this particular June day, I and my travel companion, Jared, were off to see another castle. There are many castles all over Ireland, and I wanted to see as many as I could. This particular one was called McDermott Castle, and was in the middle of a lake at what is now the Lough Key Forest Park.
I was drawn to it because the only way to get to it was by row boat. As we rented the row boat, they cautioned that the approaching storm would mean we had to have the boat back sooner than usual. Well, we'd have to hurry, so no leisurely and romantic ride out there. I did my best to think light, as Jared rowed against the wind. After what seemed like ages, we finally docked, and we arrived just as the only other two people on the island were leaving.
Well, perfect!! We get the whole castle to ourselves!! We went in the gate and discovered that, while it was very lovely, it was also quite small. That didn't make it any less wonderful or intriguing, it simply meant that I wandered out to the courtyard much sooner than I otherwise might have. The courtyard was mostly overgrown, but there was one clear trail heading out to the far end of the grounds. That was exactly what I wanted! I thought it would be really quite lovely to capture the entire view in one photo, and so I headed that direction. I had only gone few feet down the trail when I was stopped by one thick, and thorned, branch reaching across and preventing my passage. Well, I'm not the sort of girl who would ever let a branch stop me, so I carefully put my fingers on each side, being careful not to touch the thorns, and simply picked it up, and moved to the other side of it. I hadn't yet put it down when I'm quite certain I was bitten by a faerie!! I felt a dreadfully sharp pain on the back of my calf, and as I yelped in pain, I instinctively swatted where it hurt! My hand felt nothing, and when I quickly looked, I saw nothing! Well, then something must have gotten under my thick tights somehow! I was glad I was the only person around, as I pulled them down to see what could have got me! There it was, something I can only describe as a faerie bite. Right there on my calf, clear as can be, I saw four little puncture marks, in the shape of a little diamond... or a slightly turned rectangle. It was only just over a quarter inch, and it hurt like the dickens!! I quickly decided that I would not need a picture at the far end of the faery garden, and I proposed that we row around the island, so I could take a picture in safety, from the same vantage point. Well, when we got there, the foliage was too tall to see it the same, so I didn't take a photo. Just a little further around though, and I saw the last bit of proof I'd have needed... a single swan on the side where the wind wouldn't catch her, swimming along next to the castle wall. 
Well, there you go. An old romantic castle... in the middle of a lake... and a swan to act as ferry.
Now then, I understand that real faeries aren't the the honey sweet and helpful things Mr. Disney dreamt up, but I can't help but think that he got some of it right. I'll never forget that moment, and I can't help but believe in faeries after I clearly attempted to encroach on their area, when they clearly put up a barrier. Lesson learned.
Tell me, do you think it was a faerie? Have you ever had an experience with a faerie? If you doubt, what do you think it could have been?
Oh, and I borrowed the second picture from Google. It looked similar, from a distance, that day. Tinkerbell too 😁